Wednesday, 25 May 2011

An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department has been awarded $1.1 million by a jury in his gay bias lawsuit. Sgt. Ronald Crump alleged in his lawsuit that he was transferred from the Los Angeles Department Media Relations Section in 2009 after he complained about the way he was treated by his boss over his sexual orientation. The lawsuit alleged that this mistreatment left Sgt. Crump with the short end of the stick as far as pay increases and promotions were concerned.

The Los Angeles Police Department denied that there was any mistreatment of Sgt. Crump, and said that he had worked for several months in the Media Relations section before he complained about the ill-treatment. Further, according to the lawyers for the LAPD, Sgt. Crump did not lose any pay when he was transferred to the Media Relations Section, where he currently earns more than $100,000 annually.

Sgt. Crump, who has worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for over 16 years, said he needed to file the sexual orientation discrimination lawsuit to help other employees in the same position who may be treated badly because of their sexual orientation. According to Crump, he never made it a point to publicize his sexual orientation in the workplace.

California’s laws strongly protect persons from being discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. There are currently no federal laws that protect gays and lesbians from sexual orientation discrimination. However, California's laws under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act ban discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation.

These laws are not just for gays and lesbians. These laws protect heterosexuals, homosexuals, gay and lesbian individuals as well as transgender persons and transsexuals. Employees who find that they are discriminated against in the workplace should contact a California employment discrimination lawyer who can bring a claim for sexual harassment or even gender discrimination. Employers who pay a gay or lesbian employee less than their straight coworkers, or refuse to hire a gay or lesbian employee, or fail to promote an employee because of sexual orientation may all be guilty of discrimination based on sexual orientation.